Jose Manuel Puerta Pena

The satellite carries a radar altimeter so sophisticated that it can overcome the difficulties measuring surfaces of ice. With the successful launch of the Cryosat-2 (second mission homologous to the failed Cryosat-1) mission, the automatic management of the station’s satellite tracking (belonging to the network of stations of ESA) Kiruna has increased in complexity. The location of this station in a position of high latitude, in the North of Sweden, plays a primordial role in the support to ESA for satellites in low orbit, since it provides a visibility of 10 to 12 of the 14 daily orbits. S-band station and Kiruna X already supports up to four missions in parallel: ERS-2, ENVISAT, GOCE and CRYOSAT-2. This means that the station must manage an average of 40 passes per day. Thanks to the CSMC’s TCPSI system, such management is It maintains fully automated providing the same high reliability that has been giving since more than ten years. Even as the number of polar missions that must manage the Kiruna station grows (there are planned more missions such as Aeolus or Swarm), the automation, supervision and remote control that provides the CSMC system makes that task remains simple and meets all requirements with a high degree of excellence. Moreover, that system gives Kiruna station with remote operation real-time allowing a 24 H access from the center of control of the ESA (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany.

During the operational phase of the satellite, the Kiruna station is responsible for the monitoring and control of the satellite, and reception and processing of scientific data, outdated once the phase of launch and early orbit (known as LEOP – Launch and Early Orbit Phase). This station is considered to be the most complex of those belonging to the ESA, and has a level of automation very high thanks to the CSMC. This Advanced high availability system facilitates the critical operations of the satellite tracking, optimizing the use of resources from that station and adjusting to the strict requirements laid down by the various missions. The FEC system is also present in the main antenna of this station, because that is the system basis of ESA to control their antennas and computers belonging to the so-called front-end (it is implanted in each one of the ESA satellite tracking stations). Jose Manuel Puerta Pena: Business Development Manager for Ground SegmentAerospace Systems Division on TCP Sistemas Ingenieria backed by 15 years of experience in the development and integration of technology for medium and large enterprise, TCP systems and engineering, Spanish capital company, has been consolidated in the financial sector, characterized by offering solutions for the implementation of business processesasset management and control of business objectives. We have a staff of more than 300 professionals with a high degree of specialization, supported in work methodologies based on best practices and standards of the market, and a strong orientation to customer. The combination of different aspects as their independence from manufacturers of products, strategic vision of it, human and technological capacity for the construction of projects, positions TCPsi as a Spanish consultant of vanguard in this field.